Weston Was the Icon of Meters in Japan
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2007 IEEE Conference on the History of Electric Power Weston was the Icon of Meters in Japan Eiju MATSUMOTO* Society of Historical Metrology, Japan Abstract Weston Electrical Instrument Corporation was founded in 1888 and began to manufacture portable direct-current meters. At that time, the electricity power industry emerged in Japan, and in 1888, the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ) was also established. Many Weston meters were imported to Japan and used by government institutions and universities. Japanese meter manufacturers were established around 1900 and began to manufacture meters similar to Weston's meters. It took a while for them to become able to make meters that were comparable to Weston's. On the other hand, it took a long time for Japanese users to acknowledge that the performance of domestic meters achieved the level of Weston's. In other words, Weston's meters were the icon of meters for Japanese users and maintained their superiority status for a long time in Japan. The following meters were Weston's specialties: 1) Laboratory Standard Instrument (accuracy of 0.1%) 2) Portable Precision Instrument (accuracy of 0.25%) 3) Photographic Exposure Meter Weston's superiority status in Japan continued until around 1950, after World War II. The arrival of digital instruments, however, changed the situation radically. Although the company had excellent patents, such as one for the dual-slope A/D converter, Weston Corporation passed on the opportunity to survive the competition in the meter industry. 1. Weston Electrical Instrument and voltage [2]. Corporation and Japan Many Japanese meter manufacturers were Edward Weston (1850-1936) completed a founded before and after World War I (1914 - portable precision electrical instrument in 1918), because the war made it difficult for 1888 and founded Weston Electrical Japan to export and import products. In Instrument Corporation [1]. Weston products addition, it was costly and time consuming to were highly valued in Japan, so the owners of return imported products to Europe and the the meters handled them as if they were icons. U.S. through trading houses for repair every In other words, being an owner of a Weston time they failed. Thus, demand for domestic product was something to be proud of. Such a products increased in Japan. Meter situation continued until the 1950s, after manufacturers founded in those days include World War II. I would like to present some Shimadzu Corporation (1874), Tokyo Keiki examples. The following presentation shows (1896), Kuwano Electric (1904), Yokogawa the research results I found on my history Electric (1915), Hokushin Electric (1918), research trip. Anritsu Electric (1895), and Hioki (1935). In The first Japanese users of Weston addition, switchboard meters were imported precision electrical instruments were along with power generators, and government institutions such as inspection manufactured by each of the heavy electrical bodies of electrical laboratories and telegraph equipment manufacturers, such as Toshiba, offices of the Communications Ministry, as Hitachi, and Yasukawa electric. well as educational institutions such as The manufacture and design of meters, technical colleges and universities. The however, require components and materials. precision instruments used in these places No meters can be made if the key components helped build a high reputation for Weston. In of the meters such as a permanent magnet or addition, in those days, around 1938, Weston resistor material like manganin alloy cannot was the world's top manufacturer for standard be obtained. Accordingly, the study of key cells, standard resistors, and precision components, in particular, a permanent electrical instruments for measuring current magnet was already underway at a university. 1 Institute for Materials Research at Tohoku University completed the KS steel for permanent magnets in 1917, which greatly contributed to the start of the meter industry in Japan. [3] In addition, the replacement of equipment destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923) helped boost the demand for meter manufacturers. Meters made in Japan replaced the installment base of existing imported meters. 2. Laboratory Meters were the Icon for Figure 2 Weston Portable Inspection Bodies Weston laboratory meters were used as a Precison Meter secondary standard equipment at ETL (Electro Technical Laboratory) and at JEMIC (Japan Electric Meters Inspection Corporation). JEMIC’s offices were located around Japan, so they had a large influence on the spread of precision meters. Meters from Yokogawa and other Japanese manufacturers were adopted over time and assumed the role of practical standard equipment in private companies. They were the symbol of having good calibration facilities. The accuracy and stability were 0.1% or 0.2% (Fig.1, Fig.3) Figure 3 Japanese manufactured Laboratory Meter (0.2%) 3. Portable Meters were the Icon for Educational Institutions Weston portable instruments, as the name indicates (Keitai; Japanese), satisfied the requirement of being able to be carried to sites at power generation plants and used at universities and other laboratories. (Fig.2) These instruments achieved an accuracy of 0.25% or 0.5%, and were mainly used for Figure 1 Weston Laboratory Meter experiments by students at educational institutions such as universities and In those days, meters of advanced engineering schools. As shown in the photo, companies such as Cambridge, U.K., and (Fig.4) future electrical engineers became Siemens, Germany, were imported to Japan. familiar with the instruments through However, many of the Japanese meter experiments. This experience remained in the manufacturers adopted the structure of mind of the students and helped form a large Weston. To do so, technologies for permanent instrument market as the students developed magnets, beryllium copper springs, pivot into electrical engineers. supports, aluminum coils, knife-shaped pointers, and mirrored scale plates were required. (Fig.5) 2 Figure 6 Instrument Ledger Listing Both Weston and Japanese Meters Figure 4 Electrical Engineering (Tokyo Institute of Technology) Experiment and Portable Instruments (Engineering Dep. Waseda University n 1930s) Figure 7 Precison Portable Meters made by Eleven Companies. (at the Market 1960s) Figure 5 Weston’s Electrical Meter The price for Weston products in those (Precision Scale, Mirror, Spring, Permanent Magnet) days was approximately 200¥, double the price for Japanese meters. As shown in the As shown in the photo, until around the ledger, Weston products were constantly 1970s, products from more than 10 purchased and stored as the icon for the manufacturers were available in the market, electrical engineering course. (Fig.6, 1940s) including Weston Electric, Thomson, GE, Westinghouse, Hartmann Brown, Siemens, 4. Weston Meters are also Showcased Kuwano Electric, Hitachi Ltd., Kyoritsu in Europe Electric, Anritsu Instruments, Shimadzu Weston precision instruments are Corporation, Yokogawa Electric, Fuji Electric, showcased in places in Europe such as the Nissin Electric, Shimizu Electric, FEC, and inspection body PTB (Physikalisch NEIC. The external dimensions and -Technische Bundesanstalt) in Germany and appearance of these meters were basically Ampere's Museum in Lyon, France. identical. (Fig. 7) In the early 20th century in the US, when These meters were used for student users required that meters with the authorized experiments; however, there was a problem inspection certificates, Weston exported the with how to deal with damage resulting from precision instruments to Germany to have use. Some schools stored their Weston meters them undergo an inspection at the literally as if they were an icon and had Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt, or students use Japanese meters instead in order PTR (currently PTB), and then re-exported to prevent Weston meters from being them accompanied by the inspection damaged by use. certificate to the U.S. 3 Figure 9 Weston Master 4050 Exposure Meter Weston Euro Master, Weston Master V, Sekonic-Master According to the patent, the invention came about as a result of the love for photography Figure 8 Weston Instruments and Staff at of Weston II. [US Pat:2,0166,469 (1935)] PTB, Braunschweig Germany, (2003) Exposure meters need a photosensitive element (for which, at first, a selenium was However, the fact was that PTL used used, and then a CDS cell), which, at first, Weston meters for their in house use. was an accessory for electrical meters. Dr. Arthur Kennelly of the professor at An exposure meter called Weston Master Harvard University revealed the fact in caught the heart of Japanese professional Congress in 1900, so the establishement of photographers. For engineers who worked for National Standizing Laboratory (NBS a department that involved taking photos, currently NIST), was advanced and it had to being allowed to use a Weston Master was the set its electrical standard department and proof of being recognized as a professional inspection department [4]. photographer. Weston Corporation, UK, From the beginning PTB valued highly licensed the technology to Sekonic, Japan, for Weston meters and permanent magnets. There some period of time. was a Weston plant in Berlin for some period The turning point came soon. It was the of time. I was, therefore, able to see Weston integration of an exposure meter into a meters and meet former admirers at PTB. camera; to be exact, the arrival of a camera with a built-in through-the-lens (TTL) 5. Weston Exposure Meter was the Icon for exposure meter. In the period between the Professional Photographers 1960s and 1970s, amateur photographers In the mid-1930s, Weston manufactured using this new camera became they were able handheld exposure meters for photographers. to take the same photos as professional The combination of a selenium photocell and photographers using the Weston Master. a small meter were used to control the F-stop However, a real exposure meter needs to and shutter speed. measure the incident light, reflected light, and Young persons in the digital age may have stroboscopic light (flash light). Professional no idea what kind of tool an exposure meter is.